Tension
by Sheena Wilde
Summary: The relationship between Prussia and Austria had never been easy. Even now, when they were supposed to be getting along well, or at least without trying to kill each other, they just couldn't. And Germany just couldn't stand listening to the two of them fighting anymore...
1. Chapter 1

"Would you just stop with it finally?"

"With what? I'm not doing anything!"

"But you are! You are annoying me on purpose! Just leave me alone, for God's sake!"

Germany put the newspaper down to his lap with a sigh. This had been going on for almost two hours – he didn't understand how his brother and Austria even had a voice after shouting so much! A few minutes ago they seemed to come to a point where they ran out of things to argue about but of course Prussia was too creative to let the fight just die there, and they continued with full energy. But he, he couldn't put up with it anymore.

"Stop following me around, Prussia! Some people have actual work to get done, you see!"

"I'm not following you around, Specs, I'm just…"

"I said not to call me that! Why can't you just…"

"Would the both of you just shut up already?" Germany snapped and stood up, throwing the paper away as he gave up on reading. Prussia and Austria both stopped and looked at him gaping, shocked at the unexpected shout. "Why can't you two act like grown-ups? You are acting like two children, you can't stand being in the same room for a moment without staring to mock each other! Yes, even you, Austria! I can't listen to the two of you anymore!" he shook his head angrily and walked over to the door, getting his jacket and keys. "I'll go over to Italy, and when I come back, you better have the house in its place and your childish arguments settled!" he said, giving them one more angered look, then left the house.

"Congratulations, Prussia, you made him angry" Austria turned towards the man beside him as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "If you just stopped mocking me, Germany wouldn't have left!"

"What? Don't make it seem like it's my fault! It was you who started this whole! I just tried to start a friendly conversation!" Prussia defended himself with an innocent expression.

"The sentence 'Hey, Specs, why are you torturing that poor instrument?' is not really appropriate for starting a friendly conversation!" Austria rolled his eyes.

"Because you are so goddamn sensitive!" Prussia tried to act innocent, but he couldn't help the laughing that bursted out of him.

"Very mature!" Austria glared at him. "Why couldn't you just act like an adult, Prussia? You can't take anything seriously! You made Germany flee from the house…"

"Okay, okay, I get the point, spare me the lecture!" the Prussian sighed and looked away, waving with his hand dismissively, but this didn't stop Austria.

"…his own house, because he couldn't stand us! I am ashamed because of it, but of course, you don't feel the slightest bit of shame!" Austria went on without bothering to stop speaking even for a minute. He was just really angry that he was scolded like that by Germany, like he would be a five year old child… "When you really should! Don't you see how ridiculous these fights are between us?"

"Okay, okay, Specs, I got it!" Prussia said, raising his voice slightly, because he was getting seriously pissed off with Austria. It was one thing when Germany gave him a lecture but listening to Austria when he was just as bad as he himself… Not to mention that the Austrian literally treated him like a child…

"But you are not able to stop insulting me, not even for a minute!" the brunette continued, undisturbed. "You should see how immature you are! I know that I am at fault here too, but I am not going to just let you say whatever you want-"

But he couldn't finish his last sentence because Prussia muted him. With a very old and extremely effective method – a kiss.

At first even he was surprised that he dared to do such a dangerous thing. He knew that he could be killed in any moment now, but didn't think things through, just did what he had in his mind. Well, Germany had always been saying him to think before doing something and it turned out that he was right… At least he had a good life.

But instead of what he was expecting, he felt Austria starting to return the kiss. No, he wasn't imagining it, Austria was kissing him back… and pretty passionately. Prussia hadn't noticed until now but Austria had his arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He was quickly snapped back to reality by it and put some effort to the kiss, deepening it as he slid his arms around Austria's waist. For him it seemed like the kiss was never going to end, not that he was complaining. It only grew even more heated and passionate with every moment, their bodies pressed against each other tightly, and as it seemed neither of them wanted to end it.

Then suddenly he felt Austria pull away – no, not pull away, he still had his arms wrapped tightly around him. He was leading them somewhere, and, as Prussia realized as he peeked up when he heard a door open and then close behind them, they were at the guest room, the nearest bedroom to the living room. Prussia's heartbeat sped up.

The rest of the night was a blur for Prussia. He remembered the way Austria almost tore the T-shirt off him, he remembered as he was just as eager to finally get him naked too, as they fell to the bed, as their hot bodies made contact and his skin burned, and he didn't want it to end, he just wanted more and more of him…

Prussia woke up alone. At first he didn't remember why he was in the guest room, but then it all came back to him at once. He sat up and looked around. His clothes were scattered all around the floor but only his and the bedside table lacked the glasses he placed there carefully the previous night. There was no trace of Austria ever being there. With a sigh Prussia leaned back to the bed and closed his eyes. At first it had seemed a horrible idea to kiss him, then the best in the world. But now… He didn't expect that he would wake up alone, that Austria would just leave. He thought that the morning would have been awkward but he would trade this pathetic feeling for that awkwardness. Anything would be better than this. It was one night but it meant everything to him. On the other hand, to Austria, it had probably been only a mistake, no more.

But before he could let himself drown in self-pity, he heard voices coming from the kitchen's direction. Could it be that Austria was there? He wouldn't just leave him, anyway, right? He quickly shot out of the bed and dragged on his boxers and T-shirt, grabbed his jeans, then hurried to the kitchen. He could smell the breakfast and hear someone moving around while making it. He stopped short at the kitchen door as he saw who was standing by the counter with his back to the door.

"Morning West!" he greeted his little brother and tried to not sound disappointed. Easier said than done, for sure.

"Good morning, Prussia!" Germany said still facing away from his brother. "How was your…" he started turning around but stopped as he saw him, standing in the doorway with his pants in his hand, only in boxers. "Are those your clothes from yesterday?" he asked with a frown. "Did you go out drinking again? You didn't get into any trouble, did you?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I was home…" Prussia muttered with a shrug as he walked over to a chair, dropping down to it and didn't bother with putting on his pants, just put them to the back of the chair, earning a frown from his little brother. But he couldn't care now, he used all his willpower to hide the sadness he was feeling.

He shouldn't be feeling that. It was downright stupid and pointless. He should have known that this wasn't going to end well. Austria never liked him, and even if they were quite okay with each other, they still argued about everything. They weren't even friends.

Of course there had been times when he would have sworn there was something between them, from the kind of relationship he desired. But as yesterday night proved, it was just simply… sexual tension and not much of a romantic kind. On Austria's part, that is. He had to put up with it as there was no other way to go around it.

"Are you alright, brother? You look… depressed" Germany asked, a worried frown on his face as he put a plate full with eggs and sausages in front of him.

"It's… nothing, really. I just…" he started silently, staring down at the food and got lost in his thoughts halfway into his sentence. "I'll just have to get over it, but I'll be fine. So don't you worry!" he looked up and tried to force a grin, with little success. With a sigh he stood up and grabbed his pants from the chair. "Sorry, West, but I'll pass the breakfast now. I'm not hungry" he said while walking out of the kitchen, leaving a worried Germany behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Days passed and slowly Prussia started acting like his old self. But he never went to Austria's place, neither did Austria come over randomly anymore. When Germany tried mentioning it once, he regretted it right away. Prussia suddenly fell silent and looked away, only shrugging as a response, and his mood became dark. Germany didn't dare to ask what happened after he had left them and had no idea what could make his brother so sad. It hurt him to see him like this and didn't want to hurt him any farther by asking him questions about it.

But as much as he cared for his brother, life didn't stop for his sake. A few days later he got to know that Austria was coming over next day to consult about something concerning both of their economy. He slowly walked to Prussia's room, and stepped in half-heartedly when given the permission to enter.

"Brother, I… want to speak with you" Germany started, his worried look making Prussia frown.

"Sure, go on" the older nation nodded, looking up at him as he put his laptop away.

"I don't know what's going on with you but Austria is coming over tomorrow. It'll be a business meeting. I just wanted to let you know" Germany explained and tried to read the expression that was on his brother's face.

"Thanks, West… Nice of you to think of me" Prussia forced a smile but then looked down at his lap, frowning even more.

"Look, I don't want to intrude anything but what happened after I left? Did you argue?" Germany couldn't stop himself from asking it. He had to know if something serious happened. Prussia was his brother and Austria was a close friend, after all. And despite their constant arguing, he knew that they didn't hate each other and never held anything against each other. He just wanted to know what changed. "I am just concerned about you."

"I know, West. It practically radiates from you" Prussia smiled at him, then turned serious again. "But I don't want to talk about it. I can't talk about it."

Germany sighed but nodded understandingly and left. He still wasn't calm but if his brother said he couldn't tell it to him, he believed him. He didn't really have any other choices either.

Down in the basement, Prussia leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. Austria was coming over. He didn't want to meet him and listen to what he already figured personally. Maybe his brother warned him, so he could go away while Austria was here. West was the best, after all… He was sad that he didn't tell him what the situation was but he just couldn't tell him. He didn't want to tell about it to anyone, not his brother, not his friends, until it settled down somehow. If it's never mentioned again, then he wouldn't tell anyone.

The next day Prussia was hanging with France and Spain, just speaking, having a good time, and acted like everything was okay. He just wanted to forget all about it for a little time at least. He wanted to get free from his worries and fears that it might not mean anything and he'd have to live knowing that Austria would never return his feelings. He got home around eight pm, tired and hungry.

"Hey, West! Did you make dinner?" he started as he threw his jacket to the hanger and kicked off his shoes, then went to the living room where the lights were on. "I could literally eat a horse…" his voice trailed off as he saw the Austrian sitting on the couch instead of his brother. "Specs…" he muttered, trying to force a grin.

"Ah, good evening, Prussia!" Austria looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "I thought you'll never arrive and I would have to leave without talking to you. Germany told me that you went out with your friends and I was afraid you'd stay out whole night as well. Good thing you didn't" he said as he stood and took a few hesitant steps towards him.

"You wanted to speak with me?" he asked incredulously, blinking surprised at Austria. How long had the man been waiting for him?

"Well, yes, I think that should be the right step after what happened" he nodded and after a minute of hesitation, he added. "Also, Germany informed me today that you weren't acting like yourself lately…"

Prussia pressed his lips together at that, and had quite murderous thoughts about his little brother. This was no good, Austria wasn't supposed to know how miserable he felt in these past few days. It made him look weak and Austria could easily understand that he was in love with him. That was just pathetic, he knew, and of course hopeless.

"Alright, let's discuss it then" he nodded slowly, reluctantly at the end. No, he didn't want to discuss it but he wouldn't seem cowardish in front of Austria! "But let me start it" he added quickly and looked at the aristocrat seriously. When the other nodded in agreement, Prussia continued, averting his gaze from him. "If I remember right, it was you who left me alone on that morning. In my opinion, that would have been the perfect time to talk about it and still you fled!" he started angrily but Austria interrupted, trying to defend himself.

"I am sorry, I just didn't…"

"I haven't finished!" Prussia grunted and looked at him strictly. "How convenient for you to escape a possibly uncomfortable situation and only come back days later, when you have everything settled down in yourself! Why would you even care about what that did to me, right?" he asked but cut himself short before he said something he would regret later. He had already told the Austrian too much.

"Look, Prussia, I'm… I'm sorry" Austria started, his eyes casted down, and his voice barely more than a whisper. "I know that I shouldn't have left… I was just confused…"

"Confused? Don't you think that I was confused, too?" Prussia bursted out, despite how he tried to hold himself back. "All of a sudden you just pulled me to a bedroom when honestly I was simply expecting you to slap me in the face for even trying to kiss you!" he just glared at Austria, and no, he wasn't panting, he wasn't upset, he couldn't be…

"I… I didn't know what to do… I just…" Austria stuttered, having no idea how to respond, and as his cheeks turned red in shame, he quickly looked away. "I thought you were initiating that… I didn't want to refuse…" he confessed finally and closed his eyes, waiting for the albino's reaction.

Prussia stared at him, taking his time to process what it meant what he just heard. He just didn't know how to understand it… Was Austria trying to say with this that he loved him? Was he waiting for Prussia to say it first? Did he not know how he felt? Or, on the contrary to all of these, was he just trying to make him understand that it was only one night? That he didn't want any continuation? Any more of him?

"Say something, please…" Austria whispered, looking downwards. He felt horrible about this whole and didn't know what to do with Prussia's reaction. "I don't know what else you expect from me, I just… I told you everything I could…"

"Seriously? This is all you can tell me?" Prussia looked at the aristocrat and shook his head. His voice was silent, too silent, and a tad shaky. "You have only made things worse so far" he said and looked downwards, not wanting to meet Austria's eyes.

"Why? I told you everything I could…"

"Yes. And you only missed out what you actually felt… what you feel about it. I am not so surprised, you would always take the cautious way out" Prussia gave him a dark look and shook his head, then turned his back on the Austrian. He was too hurt to stay in the same room with him anymore. Austria knew about his feelings, he concluded, he knew about them and he didn't want to turn him down directly, so he was avoiding the topic the best he could, probably hoping that they both would just forget about it and go on.

"Prussia, wait!" Austria protested and grabbed the albino's hand, trying to pull him back before he could flee. He couldn't let him go just like this. "Look, I apologize that my answer wasn't enough for you but I don't know what else you expect from me…"

Prussia took a deep breath at that and he walked up to the Austrian, not bothering to free his hand from his grip, he only looked back at his eyes.

"I love you, Austria. I kissed you because I love you" he told, completely serious to Austria's amazement who just stared at the albino before him gaping. "Do you still have nothing else to add?"

"I… I don't know what to say to that…" the aristocrat stuttered, his face turning pale and he just stared at Prussia with wide eyes.

"Say that you love me. Or that you don't. There is no third option" Prussia answered but felt his heart break. Austria's reaction in whole was something equivalent of a clear rejection, even if there wasn't any word spoken. "You are saying no. Just as I thought. Well, then let me go and get out of here" he said with a grim look on his face as he freed his hand, turned his back on him and made it to his room, down to the basement, slamming the door hardly after himself.

Austria just stared at the door confused, his hand still in the air as if he was still holding onto Prussia. He bit his lip in hesitation, and had no idea of what would be the best to do. Last time leaving was the worst thing to do, but now maybe it would be the only good…

He didn't have much time alone as a few moments later the door opened and Germany stepped in. Austria flinched in surprise and turned towards him, he didn't know that the German was coming home so late in the evening, he thought he would stay at Italy's for the night. He didn't expect to meet him, especially after how bad things turned out with Prussia…

"Ah, good evening, Austria! I didn't know you would still be here" Germany said as he stepped out of his shoes and hanged his coat. Then as he would begin to walk to the living room, he noticed that something wasn't okay. "Is everything alright? You seem so… strange."

"I… I just… I'm sorry…" Austria shook his head as he walked by a worried Germany, grabbed his own coat and went to the door. He looked back at the other, although didn't dare to meet his eyes. "I'm just very sorry… I didn't mean to… Good bye" he said quickly and escaped the house, leaving a confused, frowning German alone in the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

Germany knew something wasn't right the moment he set foot in the house. The way Austria acted, how he could barely stutter some words… There had to be something that went really bad. He aimed for the basement concerned – he had the feeling that this time it wasn't his brother's fault… How he had been acting lately was more than unusual, Germany didn't think he had ever seen his brother so sad before… And although he still wasn't one hundred percent sure, he slowly started to get the idea of what was going on…

Germany stopped in front of the door and listened if he heard anything. When there was complete silence, he decided to skip the polite part and just simply opened the door. He saw Prussia lying on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling and his ears plugged in, rock music thumping to his ear, knowing him.

"Brother!" Germany called out, not wanting to scare the Prussian, but he seemingly didn't hear him. "Brother!" he repeated, louder, but there still wasn't any reaction.

Germany sighed, walked over to the bed and stopped next to his brother's head. Prussia's eyes jumped to him surprised, then quickly turned away again as he sat up on his bed and took off the earphones.

"Yeah, West? What do you want?" he asked silently, his eyes directed downwards.

Oh, there was many thing Germany wanted. He wanted to ask what was going on, why Austria was so upset, why he saw his brother look so heartbroken for the third time in a week, and why he couldn't leave the two of them alone for even a second. He should have been mad… Still, he found no anger in himself, only deep concern for his brother.

"Are you alright?" he asked finally. He knew the answer already, he could tell that his brother wasn't alright just by looking but this was the only question he felt appropriate.

"Sure…" Prussia tried to force a smirk but his lips just didn't want to obey him. He sighed and shook his head, facing away from his little brother. "No, West, I'm not alright. Nothing is alright" he whispered silently and closed his eyes.

Germany bit his lower lip. If Prussia admitted that there was something wrong, it had to be horrible. He sat down to the bed next to his brother and reached out with his arm, gently touching Prussia's shoulder. The albino shivered, glanced shortly at Germany, then hugged his brother tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. It surprised the younger but he didn't say anything, just returned the hug. Prussia buried his face to his brother's shoulder as he fought back his tears and gathered some strength to speak.

"I was an idiot, West…" he started silently, his voice weak and trembling, but he was trying hard not to lose it in front of his brother. "I told him I loved him and he rejected me… I don't even know what I was expecting… why I was hoping…" he whispered, squeezed his eyes shut, and didn't let go of his brother.

Germany was surprised to hear that. He assumed that Austria and Prussia couldn't exactly hate each other, because despite arguing so much, they still spent a lot of time together voluntarily, but he would never have figured his brother felt that way for the aristocrat.

"So that was why you didn't want to see Austria…" he mumbled, more to himself than to his brother.

"N-no, that was because we slept together… I only confessed today…" Prussia corrected silently and bit his lower lip, closing his eyes in embarrassment. He felt Germany froze at his words and there was a few moments of silence.

Thoughts were rushing through his mind and the strange events of the past days slowly put themselves into place. Why his brother was so disappointed that morning and why he was wearing the clothes from the day before. Why Austria practically begged him to let him stay so he could speak with Prussia… This, maybe he shouldn't have allowed.

"I… I'll be fine though…" the older nation pulled back from the hug eventually and rubbed his eyes. He wasn't crying but he had to put a lot of effort into keeping it that way. "I just need some time to get over it. Guess we won't be bothering you with our fighting for a while" he tried to joke, forcing a smile, but had to look away and bite down on his lower lip hard to hold back the forceful tears.

"If you need anything, bruder… Just tell me, please! I don't know what I could do now…" Germany said softly but helplessly.

"It's okay. I'll tell you if I need your help" Prussia nodded, an honest smile finding its way to his lips at his brother's sweetness. He just couldn't help but be fond of his little brother and it felt good to know that he really could count on him in anything.

Austria was sitting at his piano but he was just looking at the keys. He tried playing but his mind kept abandoning the music and always went back to Prussia and what had happened the day before. He was confused ever since he had spoken to him. His thoughts were a complete mess and he could not focus on anything. He sighed as he once again tried to play something but he hit a wrong key, flinched at the sound and stopped.

"What's troubling you?" he suddenly heard a voice and when he turned around, he saw Hungary standing at the doorway. "I can see that you are not completely yourself…" she said as she walked closer to him. "You have only ever stopped a piece halfway through or made a mistake when there was something bothering you…"

"You know me too well" the man sighed and gave her a weak smile.

"Maybe I can help you?" Hungary offered and put her hand on the other's shoulder.

"That is very nice of you but…" Austria started but stopped for a moment and bit his lower lip. "I do not think it would be appropriate to speak about it to you… as you are my ex-wife."

Hungary smiled at that. So it was love matter that was bugging him so much.

"Oh, come on, don't be ridiculous, Austria! We have had our divorce so long ago! It doesn't matter now" she said shaking her head and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Come, let's go to the living room. We sit down and you tell me everything about who she is and what your problem is."

Austria sighed, shook his head and stood up from the piano, giving in to the woman.

"Alright, let's go then" he nodded, starting to walk out of the room.

Once they were sitting on the couch, Austria was awkwardly staring at his hands that were resting in his lap and didn't know where to start. His own foolishness was what they were about to discuss… And his love. Towards Prussia. And he should speak about to Hungary.

The woman saw his uneasiness and put her hand on his arm gently, giving him a soft smile.

"It is quite alright. You know that you can tell me everything and I'll try my best to help you."

"I know" he smiled back faintly. "It's just… It's not easy to speak about it… Because now I am the one to blame, I was the one who ruined everything" he whispered and fel the weight of all his mistakes.

"I am sure there's a way out of that too… I do think you can make it up to her… whoever she is" Hungary smiled at him encouragingly.

"First of all… It's not a 'she'… More like a 'he'…" Austria mumbled as he looked up at her.

"Oh" Hungary looked back at him and her eyes lit up a bit, although he saw that she tried to hold herself back from showing her enthusiasm. "Then who is he?"

"Ah, well, you know him…" Austria started and looked away from her, starting to play with the hem of his shirt's sleeves and blushed deeply. Just the thought of what he was going to tell her… Oh dear god. "It's… It's Prussia" he said finally and closed his eyes.

There was only silence after his confession and when he dared to look up, he saw Hungary staring at him in a mix of shock, disbelief and amusement. She opened her mouth but closed it without saying a thing and shook her head. She looked away, then back to Austria, a smile finding its way to her features in the meanwhile.

"And when did you plan on telling me this? I just… I feel like I've been blind to not notice it.. But still you should have told me sooner!" Hungary scolded him playfully. "How long have you been together? And what's the trouble now?"

"You… you misunderstand it" Austria started to explain and shook his head, although he was rather surprised at Hungary's reaction. He thought that the woman might be a bit more shocked or something worse… It was quite reassuring to know that she wasn't against it. "We haven't been dating. That… is part of the trouble."

"Oh… What happened then?" Hungary asked, turning completely serious and worry was clearly audible in her voice as she spoke.

"Last time when I was over, we fought as usual" Austria started but paused. He didn't know how to word it appropriately. It was pretty embarrassing to tell her this one part. But Hungary gave his arm a comforting squeeze and he just sighed and went on. "Things… haven't gone as usual… And it was because of me that we ended up spending the night together…" Austria was pretty sure he heard Hungary squeak but when he looked at her, she seemed completely serious. "In the morning though…" he continued. "I woke up first and left quickly before he could notice…"

"You did what?" Hungary looked at him, shock and anger clear on her face. "What were you thinking? And you are the one going about lecturing others about manners! No wonder Prussia is hurt now!" she gave him a scolding glance.

"It's not the end… I went back…" Austria mumbled, but casted his eyes down in shame. He knew that Hungary was right and he really did deserve it.

"Ah, thank god!" Hungary sighed in relief and waited for the Austrian to continue.

"A few days later I…"

"Days? You waited days?" The woman interrupted the other and looked at him strictly. "Austria, you know that I love you, but you are a complete idiot…" she shook her head. She couldn't believe that this was Austria, the kind, shy and calm Austria who always thought through everything before acting.

"I know that I made a mistake. I know and I feel awful. Especially after I spoke to Prussia yesterday" Austria stared again and looked at Hungary. "I didn't even know what I wanted to say. I thought I'd just start and see where I'll end up. I just couldn't predict what would happen, how it would go… But you know him… He wouldn't let me speak. When he confessed to me, I was helpless - I couldn't stutter a word…"

"He confessed? Prussia confessed and you messed up?" she sighed and looked at him sadly. "But how?"

"I don't know, I guess I just got scared…" Austria said, biting on his lower lip, and turned his head towards Hungary. "We have a history that is… not easy, you know that. How could have I known what I should do? It was so sudden, so complicated… Do you think I destroyed everything we had?"

"No, I wouldn't say so… But you certainly didn't make it easy…" Hungary said and rubbed the back of her neck, thinking about the situation. "What you did… Well, it could have been worse, I guess. If you just went there and explained everything to him, I think he would understand…" she suggested. "I mean, he's the nervous type too, even if he wouldn't admit it if his life depended on it."

"I don't know if I could do that… What if he didn't want to listen? Maybe I should give it some time…" Austria mumbled, unsure of the right step.

"No, that's a horrible idea" Hungary said in a definite voice and when Austria looked up surprised, she explained what she meant. "If you let it settle between you, if you let it stay there, it will distance you. You have to act now if you don't want it to ruin you… I think Prussia will forgive you" she smiled at the Austrian and pulled him to a hug.

The man returned it and nodded but didn't say anything. He thought through Hungary's words and found that it was logical… But how was he supposed to be able to go back and speak with Prussia after all this? After he had hurt him so deeply? And Germany… he was already so protective of him the day before… They were so close, he must know everything about what happened. It had occurred to him when Germany hadn't wanted him to talk with Prussia… Austria sighed again as he pulled away from Hungary.

"I'm afraid speaking with him is not going to be easy as Germany guards him as if he were the elder of them… I am positive he won't be happily letting me talk to Prussia…" Austria said as he looked down at his lap once again and guiltily started pulling the end of his sleeves.

"Well, that is possible… But if he knows everything, just tell him what you feel and what you want to tell Prussia. I'm sure you can reason with him" Hungary assured him and gently put her hands over his to stop him from ruining his shirt. "Come on, it'll all be alright! Tomorrow you'll go over, make everything clear and everyone will be happy!" she said as she gave him a warm smile.

"I hope you are right…" Austria sighed but tried to return her smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Austria pressed the bell quickly before he could change his mind and flee. He was fidgeting nervously as he waited for the door to open. The only thing he hoped that it won't be Germany who would open the door… He knew he was being naïve though, it was always Germany who let him in, Prussia having never heard the bell as he was almost always "busy" with something.

"Good morning, Austria" the German greeted him politely but coldly as he opened the door but did not step aside as usual to invite him in.

"Good morning to you, too" Austria said and attempted to smile at him but had the feeling he failed miserably. "Germany, I… I'd need to speak to your brother…" he added silently.

"No. He doesn't want to see you" Germany answered instantly, and looked at the Austrian strictly, trying to convince him to leave.

"Look, I… I understand that, but I have to speak with him about… about what happened" Austria tried to reason with Germany, hoping that he could make him understand.

"No, I think you have done enough of that last time" the younger of the two stated. "It would be the best if you left now" he said, not too gently - it was more of a command -, then moved to already close the door.

"No, wait!" Austria protested almost desperately and reached to stop the door. "Please, Germany, I know I made a mistake, I know I hurt him! I know! But you can not believe how utterly sorry I am and how much I have regretted what I said! I behaved horribly and there's no excuse for that, but please, just let me have a chance to explain myself to him!"

"That's all very nice, Austria, but…" Germany started, voice slightly raised in irritation.

"Let him in, West" Prussia's voice interrupted him and as he turned around to look at his brother, Austria could see him standing in the door of the living room. "He's so enthusiastic, I guess we couldn't get rid of him any other way" he laughed weakly and although he spoke to his brother, he was looking at Austria.

"But brother, I…" Germany started, confused.

"It'll be alright" Prussia smiled softly, reassuringly at him. "Please, leave us now, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Germany frowned, concerned about his brother.

"I'm a big boy, West!" Prussia laughed and nodded and while Germany was still worried, he did as he was asked, going out to the garden to leave them alone.

"Come in!" Prussia turned to Austria, his smile already disappeared, and went back to the living room. Austria nodded and silently followed the albino to the room. Prussia stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face the aristocrat, arms crossed in front of his chest. Austria stopped too, leaving a comfortable distance between them.

"So, what was that that you wanted to explain to me so badly? This outburst just now wasn't something ordinary, coming from you" Prussia asked keeping his eyes away from Austria, and his expression was serious, no trace of the smile he'd offered to his brother earlier.

"Well, yes, but… What happened the day before yesterday… I want to apologize for my reaction to your confession. I just… wasn't ready for that, I'd say, and it shocked me quite a bit" Austria started, averting his gaze from Prussia but he still didn't miss as he flinched at his words. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Well, apology accepted" Prussia nodded but there was no real forgiveness, no real change in his voice. "If that was all what you wanted…"

"No, no, I'm not finished!" Austria shook his head quickly, causing Prussia to arch his brows in surprise. He knew he was talking quite a bit but he felt that was only fair after what had happened. "Last time I… did not exactly answer you, and you pointed it out to me too. But now that I have thought everything through… I am sorry about that conversation we had but I was so… afraid, you just surprised me and it was too much at once. I needed some time to clear my head…"

"I really hope you are getting somewhere with that…" Prussia mumbled, starting to lose his patience, but tried to keep his strict face.

"I am, yes, I am" Austria hurried to assure him. "I would love to answer you now, if you allowed me" he noticed that Prussia took in a sharp breath at his words but nodded to sign him that he should go on. And so he did, with a shy smile. "I love you too. And I hope, I'm not too late."

Prussia was speechless after that. All those feelings, all those thoughts that had been haunting him for the past few days, this pain he thought he would never erase… and Austria just came here and told him this! He closed his eyes as he tried to stay calm and answer coolly.

"And what do you expect me to say to that?" he asked silently, not opening his eyes, only when there wasn't any answer to that. He saw that Austria had a slightly desperate expression and sighed. "Look, I really don't know what you thought when you came here to tell me this. Two days ago, when I was telling you the same, you just didn't want to answer me and it came off like you just wanted that one night but that's what it is! But now… now you tell me you love me too! Don't you feel the contradiction?" Prussia said and tried really hard not to start shouting, but it was difficult with that much frustration that he felt.

"You just made me face such a serious question! I just… maybe I just got scared!" Austria admitted, trying to defend himself. "It was so… sudden!"

"After we had sex, I don't see how it is sudden!" Prussia cried, and now he was shouting, he just couldn't force himself to stay calm anymore.

"Because I thought it was just a one-night-stand!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't disappear in the morning, there wouldn't have been such a… misunderstanding!" he crossed his arms angrily and looked right at the Austrian. "It doesn't excuse it that you didn't answer me!"

"We were arguing, much like right now! And you just threw this at me! What did you expect? We are not teenagers, Prussia, we can't act in the heat of the moment!" Austria said, his cheeks red from slight anger and embarrassment.

"No, we aren't teenagers anymore, that's right. But it wasn't the heat of the moment! It was days later and it doesn't matter if we were in an argument!" Prussia retorted as he shook his head. "I mean, do we ever do anything else?"

"Do you see? That's exactly why I didn't know what I was supposed to do!" Austria looked at him, suddenly more vehemently. "I had to think that through! To see if what there was… if it was really something that was worth it!"

"If you had to think about it, maybe it isn't worthy after all!" Prussia answered, his voice unexpectedly calm and silent as he averted his gaze from the Austrian. "Just… let's forget it. It'll be for the best…" he sighed and already started turning away to leave the room.

"No, Prussia, wait!" Austria hurried and blocked his way, forcing him to listen to him. "If we both have these feelings and if we both mean it, we shouldn't just 'forget it'! You can not possibly mean it after all these things! Would you honestly be able to go back to the way we were before all at once?" he asked, his voice becoming gentler with every word, and saw Prussia frowning at that, looking away from him.

"Shit, Specs, you really have your way with your words… No wonder all those marriages…" Prussia muttered and didn't look up at Austria but the aristocrat took it as a good sign that he called him in that stupid nickname.

"Well, I do hope I am doing well now, too…" Austria smiled slightly and stepped closer carefully, leaning forward to kiss him gently, putting his hands on Prussia's chest. He was afraid of Prussia rejecting him at first, but his worries disappeared as soon as he felt arms circling around him. After a light, tender kiss, Prussia pulled away and leaned their foreheads together.

"You know… This doesn't mean I'm not mad at you for leaving me alone and so" he whispered, keeping his eyes closed.

"I understand that. But I would love to correct my mistake" Austria smiled and cupped Prussia's face gently with one hand.

"Huh, you better!" the albino smirked, and pressed a quick kiss on Austria's lips. He looked at the Austrian's eyes and they both started to laugh.


End file.
